The Glorious Evolution

Five minutes earlier, Cruor...

Levi stepped through the dimensional gate with Jasmine and Shia, already opening Idriss’s latest location update before the passage closed behind them.

Entering Cruor posed little difficulty... as registered Raiders, they could access invaded planets unless the natives specifically denied them entry.

Few bothered to do so... foreign Raiders searching for profitable Raids meant more people fighting the invasion without demanding payment from the natives.

The spatial jammer was the real problem.

Idriss’s warning forced Levi to choose an arrival point outside its estimated range... but that distance wouldn’t prevent him from locating their enemies.

Levi extended his advanced spiritual aetheric vision across the forest, following the coordinates into a world rendered in ethereal green.

His perception could now reach across hundreds of kilometers after his latest enhancements... he quickly found Idriss moving between the trees, with Fang following closely behind.

Farther ahead, the Hound and Rain were closing off his escape... through Levi’s spiritual vision, they appeared as tiny humanoid auras moving through the forest, as though he were watching them from high above.

’Did you find him?’ Shia asked, her tone concerned.

’He’s still moving.’

Levi sent their positions through the dimensional conversation so Jasmine could follow as well, but he kept his spiritual vision on the pursuit.

He knew how easily their rescue could become another disaster... Fang only needed to threaten Idriss while the other two dealt with them.

Even reaching him wouldn’t solve the problem...

Levi knew the Hound wanted him, but he wasn’t going to depend on that desire to draw him away.

With Idriss available as a hostage, their enemies could simply remain together and force Levi to approach on his own.

They needed those three separated as it was the only way to ensure Idriss’ survival... especially the Hound.

Before stepping into the forest, Levi had already told them his plan to achieve it... so once they got Idriss’ location, Levi searched the surrounding terrain through his spiritual vision until he found a few deep sinkholes some distance from their arrival point that caught his attention.

”This will do.”

Levi chose the best one for his plan and marked directly above its center and sent it to Jasmine to add to her prepared paintings.

’Open the portal here, facing down... keep it clear of the rim.’

Jasmine confirmed the arrangement with a nod, then opened a portal for herself and Shia, taking them behind the clouds above Idriss’ location.

During the fifteen minutes Levi and Shia spent pushing their strength, Jasmine prepared the painted scrolls of different parts of the crimson forest using the network’s videos and images... she needed to be there for the abilities’ activation through the signature, but not for the paintings and preparations.

As for getting spotted? Levi bought them high-grade anti-detection totems that could conceal their spiritual auras even from Tier 6 Rifters.

They cost a fortune, but Levi didn’t cheap out on this rescue mission.

As for himself? He didn’t need it... His Abyssal Filtrum kept him hidden.

After Levi saw through his aetheric omnipotent vision that the girls were in position and that Jasmine had already created the small real meteor, he extended the Soulleech Maw through the same portal and set the meteor on aetheric fire.

Then, he built the illusions around it even when there were tens of kilometers separating him and the girls!

The Soulleech Maw acted as his presence, and through it, he manifested realistic, gigantic replicas of the meteor in different sizes... he even added his own likeness to sell the illusion better.

Levi finished preparing the illusions in barely a couple of seconds... for their distraction plan, one real meteor would be enough.

He couldn’t afford to waste all of his aetheric flames, and Jasmine needed to preserve her energy for the portals, not waste it all on a fancy meteor shower.

But before he gave her the signal, a change in Idriss’s body caught his attention.

Through his spiritual aetheric vision, Levi noticed heat gathering around his heart... it kept increasing, reaching a dangerous level even though he was no longer fighting!

At first, Levi thought he was preparing one last attempt to escape, but Idriss remained motionless while the heat continued building.

’Don’t tell me...’

He understood why their enemies kept Idriss alive... and Idriss must have understood it too!

The man intended to commit suicide before they could use him as a hostage!

’Levi... Father just sent me a message.’

Shia’s despairing telepathic voice reached him, as did Idriss’ message.

His words confirmed his suspicion, leaving Levi with no time to spare... if that heat kept rising, their entire plan would become useless before they even reached him!

’Jasmine, release the meteor. Now!’

He sent the order through their shared conversation and immediately set his illusions in motion, concealing the real meteor among the descending masses!

His attention remained on Idriss’s heart... he needed the man to notice them, to understand that someone was already here!

That he wasn’t forsaken!

Whatever Idriss thought of their chances, Levi only needed him to stop long enough to give them one!

As for sending a message? Idriss didn’t even know Levi, Jasmine, and Shia were coming to save him... Levi doubted a few hurried words would convince him to wait without explaining where they were and how they intended to get him out.

He had no time for that conversation while Idriss’s heart kept heating up... he needed the man to witness their arrival and stop before it was too late!

And it worked... Idriss stopped his suicide attempt as the meteor shower descended on them.

Seeing this, Levi swiftly moved to the next part of their plan... he withdrew the Soulleech Maw from the portal and ordered Jasmine to close it and prepare for the next one.

Levi stood at the center of the giant pit and, without an ounce of hesitation, he set himself and everything around him ablaze!

Whoosh!

In no time, crackling Aetheric Flames engulfed the pit... as though the forest floor had collapsed into hell itself, exposing the raging green inferno below!

Then, he summoned his staff and hovered a few meters below the point he marked for Jasmine’s inked portal.

Levi poured Aetheric energy into the staff’s hollow upper section, compressing it behind the pointed crown... once the chamber filled, he forced the energy into a smaller volume and continued adding more!

He knew the weapon could withstand the pressure... the difficulty lay in keeping the charge stable until he needed it.

His Aether Resonance Javelin Technique relied on that simple principle... trap an explosion inside an indestructible weapon, then give its force a single direction to escape!

But this time, he needed to keep the lower section in his hands.

Levi loosened the segment behind the crown, exposing the eight-meter length of crimson chain.

Through his spiritual control, he contained the compressed energy inside the upper section, leaving its rear opening ready to release the blast around the chain.

Once ignited, the escaping energy would propel the crown forward while the remaining weapon stayed with him!

He remembered what happened when he launched his staff at the Hexgaze Lurker... his skeleton survived, but the flesh around it wasn’t nearly as fortunate.

This time, he concentrated the main charge inside the weapon itself.

If it weren’t for Levi’s latest strength enhancements, he wouldn’t dare go for this new technique.

But now, he kept feeding it until maintaining its shape demanded his full attention, then coated the crown with another dense layer, gathering most of it around the pointed tip.

Against someone like the Hound... he couldn’t hold back.

Once the charge stabilized, Levi awakened his Star-Forged Skeleton.

He felt his bones grow heavier, forcing him to increase the Aetheric Grasp keeping him aloft... the added weight made repositioning harder, but it would also keep the launch from throwing him away so easily.

Levi brought the staff upright with both hands, aligning his wrists and elbows behind it.

Then, Jasmine’s message reached him.

The inked portal opened overhead.

Through his spiritual aetheric vision, Levi followed the route beyond its other end, locating the Hound behind the castle’s wall.

He adjusted the staff crown’s angle toward his right thigh even when the Hound was tens of kilometers away from him!

He couldn’t afford to miss his target.

With a deep exhale and a cold grimace, Levi drove the staff upward with his reinforced arms, putting his heavier frame behind the thrust... then, as the upper section separated, he sent the resonant frequency through its compressed charge!

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!

The contained aetheric energy erupted through the crown’s rear opening, blasting around its edges in concentrated jets!

The force hammered through Levi’s arms and drove him downward, but his reinforced skeleton endured the launch as he steadied himself with Aetheric Grasp!

Meanwhile, the crown vanished through the portal with its chain racing behind it!

Levi kept his spiritual vision fixed on its pointed tip... the moment it emerged beside the castle, he guided the accelerating weapon straight toward the Hound.

CRACK!

The wall fractured around the pointed crown, then shattered.

The Hound’s belief in his own superiority meant nothing against Levi’s true strength... if both laid all their cards on the table, Levi would surpass him by far!

So, under the universal order, the belief his entire defensive ability relied on was false from the start!

Through his spiritual vision, Levi followed the weapon through the breach and into the Hound’s thigh... the moment it emerged from the other side, he guided it around the enormous limb, winding the chain tightly around it!

”Now!”

Levi increased the weight of his Star-Forged Skeleton until the strain made him feel as though his flesh would tear away from his bones!

But he didn’t stop... he twisted his body until his soles faced upward, then canceled his Aetheric Grasp and ignited his Solar Jets!

Whoosh!

The jets drove his weighted body straight toward the burning green pit, adding their thrust to gravity as he held the staff with both hands... the chain snapped taut, transferring the force of his entire descent to the Hound’s trapped leg!!

In simpler terms, Levi became a plunging anchor, and the Hound was the unlucky sailor caught in its chain!

Before he could secure his footing, that immense downward force dragged him through the inked portal!

A split second later, Levi sensed the Hound emerging directly above him... too far from the pit’s edges to reach anything!

’Close it!’

The portal vanished as Levi cut his Solar Jets and twisted his feet toward the ground.

He reactivated his Aetheric Grasp to slow his descent, dropping through the green flames before landing heavily at the bottom!

BOOOOM!

The soil exploded under his weighted frame, but Levi held the staff firmly as his spiritual perception followed the Hound’s descent.

The Hound suddenly twisted, attempting to turn his fall toward the nearest wall... then, a pained roar escaped his muzzled mouth!

The flames hadn’t even touched him yet, but the inferno’s intense spiritual heat had already reached his soul, scorching it while he remained above the raging fire!

Levi gave him no chance to escape.

”HAAAAH!!”

He planted both feet and hauled the staff down with everything he had!

The chain wrenched the Hound’s wounded leg downward, turning his desperate struggle toward the wall into a helpless plunge...

Straight into the heart of the green inferno!!